taint

¹ American  

[teynt] / teɪnt /

noun

1. a trace of something bad, offensive, or harmful.

   Synonyms:

   stain, blemish, spot, fault, flaw, defect

2. a trace of infection, contamination, or the like.

3. a trace of dishonor or discredit.

4. Obsolete. color; tint.

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verb (used with object)

1. to modify by or as if by a trace of something offensive or deleterious.

2. to infect, contaminate, corrupt, or spoil.

   Synonyms:

   poison, pollute, defile

3. to sully or tarnish (a person's name, reputation, etc.).

   Synonyms:

   stain, dishonor

4. Obsolete. to color or tint.

verb (used without object)

1. to become tainted; spoil.

taint ² American  

Or t'aint

noun

Slang: Vulgar.

1. the area between the testicles or vulva and the anus; the perineum.

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taint British  

/ teɪnt /

verb

1. to affect or be affected by pollution or contamination

   oil has tainted the water

2. to tarnish (someone's reputation, etc)

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noun

1. a defect or flaw

   a taint on someone's reputation

2. a trace of contamination or infection

Other Word Forms

• taintless
  adjective
• untainting
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of taint¹

First recorded in 1325–75; conflation of Middle English taynt, shortened variant of attaint “struck, attainted,” past participle of attainten “to convict” ( see attaint), late Middle English taynt “hue, tint” ( see tint), from Anglo-French teint or directly from Latin tinctus, equivalent to ting(ere) “to dye, color“ ( see tinge) + -tus suffix of verb action); and teinte, from Late Latin tincta “inked stroke,” noun use of feminine of past participle of tingere

Origin of taint²

First recorded in 1955–60; casual pronunciation of it ain’t (the one or the other), i.e., it is the area in between

Explanation

Taint means to contaminate. If you don’t want to taint your drinking water, don’t use an old gas can as a water pitcher. Tainting something makes it impure. To taint something is to spoil or corrupt it, whether it’s water, food, or even a person’s soul. These days, taint gets in the news if a company accidentally taints meat with salmonella bacteria, for example. If you add something poisonous to a substance, you taint it. A silly person might say when you taint something, t’aint right.

Example Sentences

The message that Washington will no longer accept business-as-usual was a sharp warning for Sheinbaum, a long-time academic and U.S.-educated scientist who, by all accounts, is free from the taint of corruption.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2026

Trying to deal with Iraq would also consume the last years of George W Bush's presidency and taint his legacy, reshaping American politics.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

Meghan had divorced a talent manager in 2014, a taint on her résumé from The Firm’s perspective.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

He also voiced concern that the draft lottery debate could "negatively taint the whole effort".

From Barron's • Oct. 18, 2025

Where Ophie and her mother huddled, the air was still clear and sweet, even as the acrid scent of burning wood began to taint it.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland

Related Words

• besmirch
• blight
• cloud
• corrupt
• damage
• discredit
• harm
• hurt
• infect
• muddy
• poison
• pollute
• smear
• spoil
• stain
• sully
• tar
• tarnish